Schuman Declaration - Legacy

Legacy

The Schuman Declaration marked the true beginning of post-World War II Franco-German cooperation and the re-integration of West Germany into Western Europe. Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany, said of the declaration, "That's our breakthrough." The ECSC was created by the Treaty of Paris (1951) and on 18 April 1951, the leaders of the six member countries (including Schuman) signed the above-mentioned European Declaration stating that 'marked the true foundation of Europe.' The supranational Community as the fruit of the Declaration provided five still-developing European institutions: the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Consultative Committees (representing organised civil society), the Council of Ministers and the European Court of Justice.

The resulting ECSC introduced a common, single steel and coal market, with freely set market prices, and without internal import/export duties or subsidies. The success of ECSC led to further steps, foreseen by Schuman, being taken with the creation of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. The two European Commissions of the latter Rome Treaties and the High Authority merged into a single European Commission in the 1960s. Further intergovernmental, (non-supranational), bodies and areas of activities were created leading to the creation of the European Union in 1993.

The Declaration is viewed as one of the main founding events of the EU. In 1985, during Jacques Delors's tenure as President of the European Commission, the leaders of the European Council met in Milan to decide upon 'national' symbols for the Community. They adopted those chosen by the Council of Europe previously but they changed the date of Europe Day from 5 May to 9 May, in commemoration of the Schuman Declaration (the day is now also known as Schuman Day).